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Macaron Tutorial

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

I hope you all had a wonderful times during the holidays. Like most of you I always feel blessed, loved, grateful, refreshed, relaxed but I also caught myself wishing for a little spring in my step the other morning. Beside the rich(er) foods, we also did indulge a bit more in lounging on the sofa late a night. And you know how that goes: the cozier you get, the cozier you want to stay, Unfortunately it's not conducive to getting things done. But dang, aren't holidays nice?

I like when holidays are short and sweet like this. I like working a lot more than I like lounging around (for now) so when I need to raise my mental and physical ressources I tend to pile tons of colors and clean, fresh foods on one plate. Dinners revolve around a big pot of soup and lunches are most often a big "Salade Composee" (composed salad) of some of my favorite vegetables. Roasted golden beets, fennel, radish, savoy salad, mixed greens. I admit that I have never met a vegetable I did not like and I love to build salads and meals by color.

I don't live with a picky eater, on the contrary, B. is alright with trying just about anything. Unless it's beets. Just say the word beets and I get the face, the swinging head, the tapping feet, the clenched fists...Ok, maybe not this bad but beets are definitely ground for heated discussions. So what is a stubborn Taurean like me to do when faced with a stubborn Leo? Yes, get golden beets instead of red and roast them instead of pickling them. And cross all fingers hoping he'll like them while not revealing my secret vegetable.

I tried to sit as normal as I could, and eat at my normal (fast) pace but really I was carefully looking at his fork aiming for the beets, missing them, diving in, missing them. Come on man! Finally it happened. He ate a beet. A roasted golden beet. And he liked it. But I had to promise to never do this again. Ahahah!

I tend to stay with simple vinaigrettes but I do like to add toasted nuts or crumbled cheese. This time I went with dried cranberries and a little bit of feta for a complete "salad as a meal" idea. There are no strict rules for the vegetables or greens to use, add-ins and extras like nuts or fruits. Add a couple of bread slices or some gluten free polenta croutons one day and you have everything covered. Use what you enjoy and what makes you feel happy to eat and share.

Besides, getting refreshed after the holidays, this type of meal is ideal to prepare for a two day marathon of sweet samplings like the one I am about to undertake. All in the name of research of course. I am completely psyched to be a keynote speaker in an event called Sugar Coma. Shameeka from The Broke Socialite is the mastermind behind this event dedicated to sampling the best of Atlanta's sweet spots and you can bet that I jumped "yes" when she asked me to contribute to the event!

If that wasn't good enough already, my pal Tami asked if I'd be interested in teaching a macaron workshop at some point during my stay as she knew quite a few people, bloggers and non bloggers who wanted to learn how to make them. As the super efficient girl that she is, she had a dozen people signed up in less than 24 hours. Add another sweet surprise to the mix: Bakerella herself is taking the class/workshop! I am currently coming up with little surprises of my own and swag bags to give out to all the attendees.

B. thinks I am having way too much fun planning this whole trip. Yep! The macaron workshop is full but registration for Sugar Coma is now live!. If you are in Atlanta or surroundings, I hope you will come join us for one fun day of bakery touring in the city! Sweet surprises guaranteed!Salade Composee:

Preheat oven to 350F. Wash the beets and cut the stems off. Place them in a piece of foil and close it tight. Roast the beets for about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool, and carefully open the foil packet. Peel the beets and set aside.With your hands, tear the salads and parsley in small pieces and divide all the vegetables evenly among 2 large plates. Top with the some dried cranberries and some feta. Drizzle with the vinaigrette.

For the vinaigrette:Check David's post on how the French like and make their vinaigrette. I nod in complete approval.This time I used some pink salt (the bits of broken rocks are salt crystals), freshly ground mixed peppercorns and garlic instead of shallots.

I also had a big salad with French mustard vinaigrette to start out the new year. I brought back all these amazing flavored Maille jars, adding oil & vinegar to the jars themselves when they're almost done with a bunch of aromatics makes for a tasty week of salad dressing!

Helen, this is a great post. The pictures are beautiful and fresh; for a few seconds, I thought you had moved to a warmer place (like California!). The story of B. eating his beets made me smile. I have been raised on home-grown beets and I serve them to my children at least once a week... so I can never understand how some people don't like beets. Color-tricking, that's the way to go! Good luck on your sweets events. I wish I could attend too. Macarons are one of my favorite desserts and I have yet to make some good ones!

I love all the lounging of the holidays. It's been a while since I could sink into the couch and get lost in a book, and I so needed that. I've never tried golden beets, so I'm bookmarking this to try out. It looks beautiful!

I love pickled beets (or beets in any preparation), so B gets no sympathy from me! :P The colors of this salad make me happy, especially on dull, grey, wintry days like this one. Oh, and all this Sugar Coma hubbub is making me wish November was coming just a little bit sooner :)

I have always loved your bright light pics but I am loving the diversity of your new dark rich shots. Thank you for such beautiful inspirational recipes and images, i always look forward to your posts...... from the sunny caribbean....mj

It funny I don't equate salad with summer any longer, but with winter when I get overdosed on heavy comfort food, I make a refreshing salad to bring me back to sanity.This looks like just the ticket.Mimi

Wow! You do savories just as perfectly as you do sweets. I am amazed. Both the salad and still life pictures are absolutely wonderful!Is there a way to purchase the second picture, the one with the beets? I'd love to have this in the kitchen!

Gorgeous color, light and balance. wonderfully composed!I am fgrateful for this post to remind me to mince shallot for my vinaigrette! And to roast something for the top of my winter salad. Have fun in Atlanta, and hope it is not humid!

My husband is very easy going as well, except when it comes to beets. He does, however, now like my "beet pasta" and my beet bread. I puree it and incorporate it into the doughs. My kids eat it too because it is pink. They all hate beets in their purest form. I love 'em!

Oh boy...this looks so lovely and light, especially after the heavy holiday food so many of us have been eating. I've recently taken quite a liking to radishes and have been adding them to salads or just eating them with a bit of butter on bread. Can't wait to try this. Stunning photos!

Sunshine in a bowl! That's just what I thought when I spied the display of meyer lemons. Had never heard of them until I came across your blog....a lemon's a lemon, right? Thank's for enlightening me, who would have thought i'd ever find them in these snow buried northeast mountains. Such a treat. Love your blog, love your recipes.....drifted this way via jen/URB. You ladies do it up right! farmerpam

That's just BEAUTIFUL. Seriously, I just want to gaze and gaze at those photographs. And post more recipes in French! I love testing my high school French (still pretty good, but unsurprising, since the subject of food was always my strength.)

I'm in love with those colors. The salad, like everything else you make, is too beautiful to eat. But of course, if presented with anything YOU made, I'd be a fool not to eat it (and enjoy it!) :) Very psyched for your new adventures. I suggest after the Sugar Coma tour, you also lead the participants on an Ass Reduction Plan run around the city ;) hee hee! Then they'll discover why you're such a skinny rail! xoxo

Have you ever thought of creating a calender with your photos? I am always looking for a fabulous kitchen/food calender and have become more and more disappointed as each year passes by. Your photos are gorgeous and would make FABULOUS monthly calender photos!

This is just EXACTLY what we're eating right now, lots of sweet citrus and veg, tossed with strong greens, sprinkled throughout with personality cheese and well toasted nuts. Nothing tastes better in January. Beautiful spread. Molly

I am married to a beet hater too! I have tried to woo him with golden beets but he doesn't like those either. Recently I made a pasta salad that had a few of the golden ones in it and he LOVED the salad. Afterward I told him the reason he liked it so much was because of the beets. He wasn't amused. Anyway, this salad is a vision of loveliness. I could eat that every day.

Oh, my gosh!!! your pictures, so delicate, lovely! the colours, the composition... i reallly really love them!! how do u do it? i know u must have a really good camera, and lights... u use filters too? but i can see that u have nice skills too :) love it!